Method of and apparatus for packaging cigarettes and the like



March 5, 1957 Filed Dec. 28. 1951 10 Sheets-Sheet 1 INIENTOR. LESTER A. METZ ATTORNEYS March 5, 1957 L. A. METZ METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PACK CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE 2,783,596 AGING Filed Dec. 2 8, 1951 10 Sheets-Sheet 2 lllll|l|| INVENTOR. LESTER A. METZ ATTORNEYS March 5, 1957 A. METZ 2,783,595

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 28, 1951 10 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig/6 "FT; i Fla-3 )NVENTOR. LESTER A METZ ATTORN EYS March 5, 1957 A. METZ 2,783,596

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE a Filed Dec. 28, 1951 10 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. LESTER A. ME-TZ ATTORNEYS METZ METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE March 5, 1957 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 28, 1951 INVENTOR. LESTER A. METZ ATTORNEYS March 5, 1957 L. A. METZ 2,783,596

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 28, 1951 l0 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. LESTER A. METZ ATTORNEYS March 5, 1957 L. A. METZ METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE l0 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Dec. 28, 1951 INVENTOR. LESTER A.IMETZ ATTOR NEYS March 5, 1957 L. A. METZ METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 28, 1951 10 Sheets-Sheet 8 Fig, /9

INVENTOR. LESTE R A. METZ ATTORNEYS March 5, 1957 A. METZ 2,783,596

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 28, 1951 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 87 v 33 as 89 LESTER A. METZ ATTORNEYS IN V EN TOR.

'March 5, 1957 Filed Dec. 28, 1951 L. A. METZ METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE l0 Sheets-Sheet l0 INVENTOR.

LESTER A. METZ ATTORNEYS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING CIGARETTES AND THE LIKE Application December 28, 1951, Serial No. 263,889

8 Claims. (CI. 53-14) METHOD My invention is a method of and apparatus for packaging articles within a pouch and, during the packaging, applying a tab to the pouch to provide a pull for facilitating the unfolding of a portion only of one end closure of the pouch to form a reclosable spout.

My invention is particularly applicable to the packaging of cigarettes in a soft shell or pouch composed of an inner wrapper having tucked and folded end flaps telescoped within a jacket and provided with a cellophane wrap, and in which wrapper extensions designed to form end flaps are crush cut from their free edges to points adjacent to the jacket edge surrounding its mouth. The wrapper extensions projecting from the sides of the package are tucked, and the crush cut wrapper extensions from the front and back faces of the package are folded so that the cuts or slits in the folded flaps lie adjacent to an edge of the tuck to which the tab or pull has been secured prior to tucking and folding and will also lie slightly beneath the edge of a stamp secured to the jacket and overlying the folded end flaps.

By my invention, the tab or pull is accurately positioned and secured relatively to the slits, so that pulling on the tab will unfold the tuck along the crease attaching it to the body of the pouch. The tuck and flap sections overlying it are not fastened face to face, and hence the unfolding of the tuck withdraws the overlying flap sections from beneath the stamp and unfolds such flaps along creases transverse to the crease on which the tuck unfolds.

Preferably, the outer portion of the tab is folded back over itself and issecured to the inner surface of a readily severable section of a moisture-tight cellophane wrap. When such detachable section of the cellophane wrap is removed, it exerts a pull on the tab which unfolds the tuck and overlying flap sections and peelsthetab from the tuck.

Leading objects of my invention are to provide a method and apparatus for slitting a wrapper and attaching a tab to an open ended pouch formed therefrom at a high rate of speed and'low cost and-in accurate'r'elation to the slits without disturbance of the tabby the loading of the pouch or by the ejection of the package from the machine.

In the preferred practice of my invention, a wrapper web is crease-cut to form slits converging inwardly from a longitudinal edge thereof, and the Web' is severed into wrappers which are individually fed 'to a series of'hollow formers rotatable intermittently about the axis of armor. Each wrapper is bent, tucked,'folded.and 'enclosed in an opened mouth jacket on a hollow'forrner so as to form a shoft shell or pouch having an edge around its open mouth.

When the formation of an open mouth pouch'from the wrapper and packet has been completed, a plunger ejects a group of cigarettes from a compressorpocket of a second rotor into the pouch while 'itis still on a former and in registration with the pocket. The'-registra-- tion of the pocket and Y pouch 'is preferably effected" by United States Patent O 2,783,596 Patented Mat. 5.,

rotating them about parallel axes in axially spaced planes.

The tab or pull is applied to the pouch after it has been loaded with cigarettes. The tab is formed by drawing a strip having a thermostropic surface from a roll and cutting such strip transversely to its longitudinal edges. The tab is then inverted and moved transversely to the length of the pouch so that the thermotropic surface of the tab is face to face with the pouch; the cut edge of the tab is normal to the mouth edge of the pouch, and an edge of the tab which formed a longitudinal edge of the strip is parallel with and adjacent to the mouth edge of the pouch. The tab section adjacent to such edge is then secured to the pouch while the opposite end is held away from the surface of the jacket.

This positioning and securing of the tab is preferably effected by moving the former with the loaded pouch thereon into proximity to the path of rotation of a tab gripper mounted on a third rotor, which is rotatable around an axis parallel with the axes of the other two rotors. This gripper is movable transversely to the length of the pouch and between the ends thereof, and is momentarily halted over the pouch While the tab carried thereby is bonded to the wrapper, adjacent to the free edge thereof, by an oscillating presser, which is preferably heated to activate the thermotropic coatingon the tab or a similar coating on the wrapper.

The former is then moved into registration with a plunger which bottoms thecigarettes in the pouch and ejects the cigarettes and pouch from the former into the path of tuckers and folders. The wrapper extensions are tucked and folded so that the tucked section to which the tab is secured is partially overlaid by 'folded flap sections. The closed pouch is subsequently stamped and sheathed in transparent cellulose acetate. The free end of the tab may be folded back over the end closure and bonded to the sheath.

The positioning of the tab for bonding by its movement transversely to the pouch, between the ends of the latter and remote from the pouch filling and ejecting operations, obviates the tendency of the tab to flutter or become displaced. The bonding heat is applied remote from, and consequently does not render tacky, the thermoplastic surface of the tab at the point where it is severed from the strip and delivered to a gripper. Such positioning and bonding of the tab also obviates any interference with, or necessity for modifying, Standard mechanisms for loading the pouch and for ejecting the cigarettes and pouch from the former.

The tabs are cut, as required, from a strip drawn from a roll having the thermotropic surface on the inside of the laminations and of a width equal to the desired length of the pull tab. The strip is advancedcontinuously to a shear so long as the machine is in operation, so as to maintain a constant stress on the roll and produce tabs of uniform size.

The gripperfor seizing a tab and carrying it through an inverting path, viz. around the axis of the rotor, of which .the gripper forms a part, is preferably one of a series-of grippers which are operated at theirtab receiving and tab delivering positions by cams. These cams are oscillated'about the axis of the gripper rotor so that the grippers each-remain closed excepting when they are, respectivel gin tab receiving or tab delivering positions.

The intermittent movements of the shear, the gripper rotor, the gripper-operating cams, and the applicator or heated presser mayall be controlledfrom a set of cams on the "same carnlshaft; rotated in synchronisrnwiththe movements of the wrapper feeder, pouch former and" compressor. This camshaft likewise drivesythrdhg'h a gear -train,the feed rollers for continuously feeding the tab strip so that the timing "of the operations of the several devices is accurately controlled and creepage or backlash is minimized. The tab forming and feeding mechanisms are all mounted on a head overlying the part of the former rotor or turret, and supported by an inclined bracket extending outwardly and downwardly to a base clamped to the hearing cap of the shaft of the compressor-pocket rotor or turret. This permits the pre-assembly of all of the tab forming and delivery mechanisms, and the installation thereof as a unit in a complicated and crowded cigarette packer without interfering with any of the standard mechanisms. It also permits the driving of the tab forming and applying mechanisms from the shaft of a standard wrapper feeder through a simple sprocket and chain drive.

By making the tab strip of a width equal to the desired length of the pull tab, and the width of the pull tab equal to a very short length of strip, the requisite number of tabs for a long period of operation of the machine may be supplied from a web roll of relatively small diameter and requiring only infrequent replacements, so that there is no diminution of the productive capacity of the packaging machines, which are designed to produce in the neighborhood of 150 complete packages per minute.

The principles of my invention and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying such principles, will further appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings in illustration thereof.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic, fragmentary, front elevation of a cigarette packaging machine with my improvements embodied therein; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic top plan view of parts of the machine taken approximately on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of parts of the machine taken approximately on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged front elevation of a part of the pull-strip feeding and cutting mechanisms and of the pull positioning and securing mechanisms shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary rear elevation taken approximately on the line 5--5 of Fig. 2 and showing a part of the driving mechanism for supplying power to the pull forming and applying mechanisms; Fig. 6 is an irregular sectional view through a head supporting the pull-strip apparatus and taken primarily on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4 but partly 'on the line 66 of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic exploded view of parts of the pull-strip feeding and cutting and pull applying apparatus; Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic, perspective view, complementary to Fig. 7, showing pull translating mechanism for moving out pulls from the cutter to a pouch and into position to be pressed by a heated presser; Fig. 9 is an irregular vertical sectional. view through the pull applying head taken approximately on the line 9-9 of Fig. 4; Fig. 10 is an irregular vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 1010 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a detailed sectional view taken in the direction of the line 11-11 of Fig. 6 showing portions of the feed roller drive and adjacent mechanism; Fig. 12 is a fragmentary, sectional detail of a part of the cutter operating mechanism taken in the general direction of the line 12-12 of Fig. 13; Fig. 13 is a further fragmentary detail of parts of the cutter operating mech anism taken at right angles to the view shown in Fig. 12; Fig. 14 is a transverse sectional view of part of the pull applicator mechanism taken approximately on the line 14-14 of Figs. 6 and 9; Fig. 15 is a transverse sectional view of part of the pressor operating mechanism taken approximately on the line 1515 of Fig. 9; Fig. 16 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic side elevation showing the feeding of a wrapper to a former and the ejection of a completed package from the same former at XII position of the pouch forming turret; Fig. 17 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic view illustrating the application of a label to form a jacketaround the former. after the wrapper has been tucked and folded at its bottom; Fig. 18 is 3. diagrammatic view illustrating a further step in the formation of the pouch; Fig. 19 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the bonding of the pull to the wrapper after cigarettes have been partially inserted into the pouch and the pull has been released by a gripper; Fig. 20 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the folding and tucking of the top closure of the pouch after the cigarettes have been fully inserted in the pouch; Fig. 21 is a perspective view of a closed package with a pull attached to a tuck; Fig. 22 is a perspective view showing the package enclosed in cellophane sheath to which the pull is bonded; and Fig. 23 is a fragmentary, perspective view illustrating the opening of the package.

The drawings illustrate the embodiment of my invention in a Class 3, Division 79, Standard Cigarette Packer marketed by the American Machine & Foundry Company and comprising (Fig. l) a frame 1, in which are journalled parallel shafts 2 and 3 of rotors or turrets 4 and 5. A cigarette hopper 6 automatically feeds three rows of cigarettes sequentially to each of the compressor pockets 7 equi-distantly positioned around the periphery of the turret 4.

The turrets 4 and 5 are synchronously rotated, step by step, in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows thereon, so that each group of cigarettes in a compressor pocket 7 is compacted thereby and brought into registration with one of a series of hollow mandrels or formers 8 equidistantly arranged around the periphery of the turret 5.

The turret 5 is rotated clockwise, step by step, and the brief stops or work stations at the end of each movement are commonly designated in accordance with clock positions I to XII" inclusive. In the passage of the turret S from positions XII to VII inclusive, each former or mandrel 8 is enclosed by a wrapper and label, and the wrapper and label are tucked, folded and sealed at one end to form a soft shell or pouch open at one end. When a wrapped former reaches stop or station IX, a compressor pocket 7 registers therewith (Fig. 2) and a compacted group of cigarettes is transferred from such compressor pocket 7 to the interior of the former and within the pouch by a reciprocal plunger 9 in the usual manner.

The sheet material, preferably laminated paper and metal foil, for forming the wrappers A (Fig. 16) are fed as a continuous web B from a reel 11, between rollers 12 and 13, between rollers 14 to a shear 15. The shear cuts from the web an individual wrapper blank A in juxtaposition to the flat face of a former 8 in the XII position of the turret 5.

During its passage between the rollers 12 and 13, the strip B is crush-cut diagonally to one of its edges, to form converging slits a, by the blades 16 and 17 (Fig. 3) fixed to the roller 12 and coacting with the yielding periphery of the roller 13. The roller 13 is driven, from the usual stamper drive shaft 18, by a sprocket chain 19 passing over the sprocket 20 fixed to the shaft 13 of the roller 13. A gear 21, fixed to the roller 13, meshes with a gear. 22 fixed to the roller 12 adjacent to the blades 16 and 17.

A roller 14 is driven from the roller 13 by sprockets 23, 23 and sprocket chain 23". The rollers 14 are journalled in a swinging frame 24, which is oscillated about the axis of the roller 13 to properly time the continuous feed of the web B and the oscillation of the frame 24 to As the former to which a detached wrapper A is fed (Figures 1 and 16) progresses clockwise, the wrapper A is bent around theformer and one end is tucked and folded.

A label C is wrapped around-the wrapper and tucke d, v

airrss saa folded and sealed at: one end: to form a. jacket. which holds the wrapper in place to form a pouch;

The feeding.andmanipulation. of the' sheets.A and C, between the stationsXII. and VII. of the turretzS', are affected by usual mechanisms forming: no part of my invention.

By the time a former. reaches station VIII, an openmouthed pouch has been completely formed and the ad, hesive sealing the jacket seams thereof is. dried, so that a compactedgroup of cigarettes may be injected at station IX into the former holding the pouch- In accordance with my invention, a pull? is peelably attached to the wrapper A adjacent to the edge of .the pouch surrounding its open mouth, and'projects longitudinally of the pouch so. as to initially partially. overlie the label C. (Fig. 19). The pull is preferably, applied at station XI, so that it is undisturbed by the insertion of the cigarettes into the former at station IX or by the ejection of cigarettes and pouch from the former at station XII.

The pull preferably consists of a thin layer of cellulose acetate, with a therrnotropic, and preferably a thermoplastic, adhesive coating on one side thereof. The pull material is fed as a continuous strip P from roll P" carried by a reel 25' (Figures 1 and2) journalled in a bracket 26 mounted on a head or housing 27 supporting the pull strip feeding and cutting mechanism and the pull translating, pressing, and activating mechanism. The head 27 is adjustably mounted on an arm 28 having a base 29 cut to fit and bolted to the bearing 2 of the shaft 2.

The roll P" is preferably wound with the thermotropic surface of the material on the inside of the laminations so as to minimize the length of 'thermotropic surface'exposed to the atmosphere during the operation; or stoppage, of the machine.

The strip P is fed (Figures 1, 4, 9)] from the roll P, over the tensioning idler roller 30, through the guide 31 and between the split feed roller 32 and the eccentrically adjusted rubber covered feed roller 33 (Fig. 11),

The feed rollers 32 and 33 advance the strip P at a constant rate across the shear table-34 (Figs. 4,7, 8-),

which has an edge 35 complementary to the'oscillating shear blade 36 which .cuts the strip P transversely to its longitudinal edges to form a pull-P substantiallyv concurrently with theseizure'of one corner of'zthe latter between gripper jaws 37 and 38-(Figs. 4, 8): of translating mechanism which turns the pull strip upside down and posi tions it in juxtaposition to the edge of a-pouch one former 8. The edge of the strip P may be-guided between the jaws of the gripper by a spring guide39.

The pull translating mechanism (Figs. 1, 4,,6, .8,19) preferably comprises. a disk 40 fixed on a-hollowshaft 41 and provided with a series, preferably tl1ree,;of peripheral bosses 42, each'having a'fixed jaw 37, .integral therewith. Each movable jaw 38 is complementary to and overlies a jaw 37, and forms a part of a somewhat U-shaped lever 43 pivotally connected with a boss 42 by a headed pintle 44. The leg of each lever 43 opposite its jaw 38, has journaled therein the shaft 45 of a roller 45, which liesin the plane of oscillatable disks 46 and 47 adjacent to the peripheries thereof. Protuberant earns 46 and 4'7 on'the peripheries of the disks 46 and 47 oscillate against the respective rollers 45 to rock levers 43 and open jaws, 38*when the latter are in desired-positions for gripping and releasing pulls P. The jaws 38 are normally held in the closed position by. the biasing action of springs 49 fixed to the shaft 45' and anchored to pins 5% on the disk 40.

The disk 46 has a split hub 51 by which it is.adjustably clamped to an oscillatable shaft 52 concentriclwith, and

passing through the'hollow shaft 41; The disk 47v is sleeved on an inner extension of the hub 51 andad?" justably clamped to the disk 46 by bolts 541' passing: through slots 53 in the latter; Thecams46 and 47" maysthus betaccuratelytadjusted: relatively :tOL'OflC another and to the other mechanisms. V

The disk 40. isnrotated in vsynchronism with the :turret 5 soxthat, .when azformer' Sap'proaches andfstops. atv sta tion-XI, a pair? of jaws 37, .38- carrying'a pull P moves transversely acro'sslthe former 8 between the ends thereof and haltsabove-a; side-of the former 8-. The jaws are so spaced from the aedge-of theqpouch around its open mouth that'an'edge of the pull, P, whichhad constituted a longitudin'abedgeof the: strip P, substantially registers with the pouch edge surrounding itsmouth. The other end of thepull Pis'heldby therjaws out of'contact with the label C, while a portion thereof is bonded *to the edge pjorti-onof 'theside of the wrapper A, between the slits a and a by a heated,'rocking, presser finger 55' (Fig. 9.). The heated endv of. the presser finger. 55, presses against the pull. P untilv the thermoplastic surface thereof is softened and bonds'thepull P to the; wrapper extension beyond the label C.

Immediately before the nextmovement of the turret 5, the endof the finger 55 is lifted, and the pouch with the pull bonded thereto moves to station XII; At stationXII (Fig. 3.), aplunger 56 is advancedto bottom the cigarettes. in the former 8 against the closed end of the pouch onthe'former. The continuingmovement of the plunger56 through the former ejects the cigarettes from the latter, andithe pressure of-the cigarettes on the closed end of the pouch strips the pouch from the former and delivers-itatoa chute 57. Oscillatingtuckers 58 and 59, at the' top and bottom of thechute 57, tuck the wrapper sectionsprojecting beyond the edge of the label at'the sides-of the package (Fig. 3) and a new wrapper A is delivered to the former from which the pouch has just been stripped. During the tucking of the stripped off pouch-the free end of the pull P is held by a presser plate 60.v A-folder 61 (Fig. 2) is then advanced to fold the wrapper section containing the slip a over against the tucks, andthe pouch is thereupon pressed along the chute 57 so that its wrapper-extension containing the slit a eugages and is folded by the folding corner 61 (Fig. 20). The pull P, and the tuck to which it issecured, are thereby: partially overlapped by. the end closure flaps a, a. The latter are latersecured in their folded position by. a stamp S applied to the label C in the usual manner and so positionedasv to slightly overlie the slits a and a.

The power for actuating the various instrumentalitiesforfdrmingand applying the pull may be conveniently supplied (Figs. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7) from the shaft 13", through asprocket 62 andsp-rocket chain .63, to a sprocket 64ad- .justablyfixed toa hub 65 splined on a shaft 66 journalled in bearings. 6,7, 67 of. the head. or housing 27. The sprocket chain 63 may be maintained under desired tension by a tensiOning idler sprocket 68 journalled on a swinging arm .69..

The shaft 66 has. keyed. thereon (Figs. 6, 7, 9, 1O, 14)

a spurgear Iii-which meshes with-a gear 71 keyed to a shaft .72 journalled in bearings73-and 74in the-housing,

27; A-spur'gear75 fixed to the shaft 72 meshes with a gear 76 journalled on atstud. of a boss 77 of the housing 27. The gear 76 has concentrically fixed thereto a spurgear 78 which mesheswith a gear 79 and the latter meshes with a gear 80 (Figs. 7, l1) fixed to a shaft 81 journalled in a boss 32-0)?v the housing 27. The stub shaft 81 con-' The complementary rubber covered roller 33 is journalled onantifriction bearings mounted on a shaft 87 having an eccentn'c section 88journalled in a bracket 86 and held therein: by ahead 89'. A handle is fixed to the outer end of .-the shaft87, and'by turning the'handle 90 the pressure betweenfthe rollers '32 and 33 may be-va'ried to secure the desired frictional continuous feed of the strip P" across the shear-plate 34. V V v The shaft 66 also hasfixed thereto a face cam 91 (Figs. 6, 7, 9, l0, l2 and 13) which has a face hump 92 which engages and rocks a roller 93 on an arm 94 of a shaft 95 journalled in a bearing in the housing 27 (Figs. 4, 7, 12). A spring-biased arm 96 is fixed to the shaft 95 and pivotally connected by a link 97 with an arm 98 fixed to the spring-biased shaft 99 to which is fixed the shear 36 above referred to. Consequently the rotation or the shaft 66, which causes the continuous feed of the strip P, also causes the intermittent operation of the shear 36 to sever the strip P into pulls P. 1

The shaft 72 has keyed thereto a gear 100 (Figs. 6, 7, 9 and 14) which meshes with a gear 101 loosely journalled on the shaft 52. A beveled gear 102- is fixed to the gear 101 and meshes with a beveled pinion 103, journalled on a stud 164 projecting from a hub 105, loosely journalled on the shaft 52.. The beveled pinion 103 meshes with a beveled gear 106 integral with .the hollowlshaft 41 and transmits intermittent motion to the latter. The hub 105 has a radial arm provided with a segmental gear 107, which meshes with a segmental gear 108 on the arm of a hub 109 loosely journalled on the shaft 72. The hub 109 has an arm 110, which carries a roller 111, lying in a cam slot 112' in the face of a disc 112 keyed to the shaft 66.

The rotation of the cam disc 112 oscillates the segmental gear 108 so as to rock the stud 104 and pinion 103 around the axis of the shaft 52, first in the direction of rotation of the beveled gear 102 and then counter .to the direction of rotation of the gear 102. Hence, when the stud 104 moves the pinion 103-in one direction, no movement is transmitted from the beveled gear 102 to the beveled gear 106 or .to the shaft 41 and the disc 40 connected therewith. But, when the stud 104' moves the pinion 103 in the other direction, the beveled gears 102*and 103 cifect the turning of the beveled gear 106, and the shaft 41 and disc 40, at a high rate of speed, so as to shift the complementary jaws 37 and 38 rapidly from one position to another, viz., from the gripping position of the jaws shown at the top of Figs. 4 and 8, to the holding position of the jaws shown at the left of Figs. 4 and 8, to the delivery position of the jaws as shown at the bottom of Figs. 4 and 8. o

The gear 70has fixed thereto a cam disc 113, having a peripheral boss 114 for rocking a roller 115, journalled on the'end of an arm 116 keyed to the end of the shaft 52. The rotation of the shaft 66 thus rocks the shaft 52 and discs 46 and 47 and oscillates the cams 46' and 47' past the respective rollers 45 associated with pairs of jaws 37 and 38 in their positions for gripping and releasing the pull P.

The shaft 66 also has fixed thereto a face cam 117 (Figs. 6, 7, 9, which engages a roller118, journalled on an arm 119, which is fixed to a shaft 120 jou-rnalled in bearings in the head 27. The shaft 120 has fixed thereto a spring biased bent arm 121, which is pivotally connected by a link 122 with an arm 123 fixed to ashaft 124. The presser finger 55 above referred to has cars 55' fixed to the shaft 124. The presser finger 55 contains an electric heating element 125, by which the finger may be heated so that the thermoplastic surface of the pull P is softened when the point of the finger 55 presses thereon.

Operation From the foregoing it will be understood that a usual laminated paper-and-foil web B is provided with converging crush slits a, a and cut into individual blanks during its passage from the reel 11 to position for engagement by a former 8 at position XII of the turret 5, and that the successive blanks are formed into pouches during their movement around the axis of the turret 5, through the positions I to VII inclusive. After a pouch has been loaded with cigarettes at station IX, pull P is adhesively attached thereto and thereafter each filled pouch is ejected from its former.

' The pull forming and applying mechanism is operated in synchronism with the feed of'the wrappers A and the movements of the turret 5 through the sprocket chain 63 which rotates the shaft 66 constantly in the same direction. The shaft 66 rotates the feed roll 32 constantly through the members 70, '71, 72, 75, 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 84 and 85. As the pull strip P is continuously advanced, it is intermittently cut, by the shear 36, which is oscillated by the shaft 66 through the members 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 and 99. Concurrently with, or immediately before, the severance of a pull P from the pull strip P, the pull is gripped between a pair of jaws 37 and 38, the latter of which is opened to receive the pull strip by the oscillation of earns 46 and 47 against a roller 45. This oscillation is effected from the shaft 66 through the members 113, 114, 115, 116, 52, 46, 47.

When a jaw 33 is closed upon a pull P, the disc is turned step by step to invert the pull and move it transversely to the length of a pouch on a former 8 between the ends thereof and so that its edges which formed longitudinal edges of the strip P are parallel to the edge of the pouch surrounding its mouth and the cut edge of the pull is normal to the pouch edge surrounding its mouth. These movements are effected from the shaft 66 through the members 70, 71, 100, 101 and 102 and through the members 112, 111, 110, '109, 108, 107, 105, 104, 103, whereby the members 106, 41 and 40 are given an intermittent movement in timed relation to the movement of the earns 46', 47 and to the movement of the turrets 4 and 5.

While a pull P is held by jaws in face to face relation to the side of a pouch on a former 8, the shaft 66 acts through the members 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, to move the heated finger 55 into pressing engagement with the section of the pull P adjacent to the mouth of the pouch while the opposite end of the pull is held spaced from the pouch.

The pouch is then ejected, folded, stamped and sheathed, as above described, so as to produce a package like that shown in Fig. 22.

When the top section of the sheath is detached, the

1. Packaging apparatus comprising an intermittently rotatable rotor including a series of hollow formers having predetermined stopping places, a wrapper feed for delivering a wrapper to a former at one of said stopping places, means for bending wrappers around the exteriors of said formers, mechanism for delivering a commodity to another of said formers at another of said stopping places, means for delivering a pull to the exterior surface of a wrapper section supported interiorly by another of said formers at a stopping place between said last named stopping place and said first named stopping place, said former holding expanded the wrapper section to which the pull is delivered, means for transversely bending the wrapper section to which the pull is delivered, and means for bending another wrapper section over a part of said ull. P 2. Packaging apparatus comprising an intermittently rotatable rotor including a series of hollow formers having predetermined stopping places, wrapper handling mechanisms for delivering a wrapper to aformer atone of said stopping places and including a cutter operable to form converging'slits adjacent to an edge of a wrapper strip and a cutter vfor'severing a portion of said strip to form a wrapper containing converging slits aforesaid, mechanism for delivering a commodity to another of said formers at another :of said stopping places and including an intermittently rotatable rotor having compressor pockets for compacting a group of articles, an ejector for transferring a group :of articles from a pocket aforesaid to said last named former, and means for delivering a pull to a package on another of said formers at a stopping place between said last named stopping place and said first named stopping place, said means including a strip feeder, a shear for severing a pull from a strip movable by said feeder and a conveyor for moving a severed pull from said shear to a loaded package on said last named former.

3, Packaging apparatus comprising three rotors having substantially parallel axes, one of said rotors including a series of wrapper formers movable about the axis of such rotor, the second rotor including a series of pockets for holding commodities and movable about the axis of said second rotor so as to bring pockets thereof sequentially into registration with formers of the first rotor, and said third rotor including aseries of pull grippers movable about the axis of the third rotor and bringing grippers thereof sequentially into proximity to the first rotor for delivering pulls to wrappers on said formers after they have respectively registered with pockets aforesaid.

4. In a packaging apparatus, a pull forming and delivering mechanism comprising a rotor including a series of grippers, means for feeding pulls to said grippers one after another, and cams oscillating about the axis of said rotor and operatively associated with said rotor for operating said grippers at predetermined points in the path of movement thereof.

5. In a packaging apparatus, a rotor including a series of grippers movable about the axis of said rotor, gripper operating cams oscillatable about the axis of said rotor, means for intermittently oscillating said cams between the movements of said rotor, a feeder in operative relation to one of said cams for feeding a pull to a gripper operated by said cam, and a presser in operative relation to the other of said cams for pressing a pull released by a gripper operated by said last named cam.

6. In a packaging apparatus, a pull forming and delivering mechanism comprising a rotary cam shaft having a series of cams thereon, a gear train operatively connected with said cam shaft, a web feeding roller operatively connected with said gear train, a shear movable into the path of a web fed by said roller, lever mechanism operatively connecting said shear with one of said cams, a rotor having grippers thereon movable into the path of a web feed by said roller, a bevel gear connected with said rotor, a pinion meshing with said bevel gear and movable about the axis thereof, means including a pair of segmental members for rocking said pinion around the axis of said bevel gear, one of said members being operatively associated with a cam aforesaid on said cam shaft, a second bevel gear meshing with said pinion and operatively associated with said cam shaft through a part of said gear train, a pair of cams concentric with said rotor and operatively associated with the grippers thereon, means operatively connecting said last named cams with a cam on said cam shaft, a presser in the path of a pull carried by 'one of said grippers and means operatively connecting said presser with a further cam on said cam shaft.

7. A method of packaging which comprises feeding a wrapper strip and a pull strip, severing a wrapper fromsaid wrapper strip and folding it into a pouch having an open end and a bottom, severing a pull from said pull strip and translating it transversely to the length of said pouch and between the edge of the open end and bottom thereof, securing a portion of said pull to said pouch adjacent to said edge and with an unsecured portion extending toward said bottom, and folding and tucking said wrapper adjacent to said 'open end to overlap at least a part of the secured portion of said pull.

8. A method of packaging which comprises forming a pouch having an edge around an open end, severing a strip transversely to its longitudinal edges to form a pull, holding said pull adjacent to one of said longitudinal edges only, and independently pressing said pull against said pouch adjacent to the other of said longitudinal edges only, folding the pouch section to which the pull is attached and folding a pouch section over a part of the pull.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,926,192 Bronander Sept. 12, 1933 1,949,158 Gay Feb. 27, 1934 2,129,888 Tamarin Sept. 13, 1938 2,131,625 Joplin Sept. 27, 1938 2,135,751 Harmon Nov. 8, 1938 2,216,447 Meletti Oct. 1, 1940 2,259,445 Arelt Oct. 21, 1941 2,285,189 Cornock June 2, 1942 2,527,272 Lyon et al Oct. 24, 1950 2,625,775 Tamarin et a1 Jan. 20, 1953 

